The Flame Within

The same year as the larger than life films of Mutiny on the Bounty, Captain Blood, A Midsummer Night's Dream, David Copperfield, and Barbary Coast, there was also the small, introspective film The Flame Within. It's easy to understand why everyone missed it, with all the other blockbusters to see. I've recently watched it and found out what a hidden gem it was.

Interesting and insightful, The Flame Within centers on a female psychiatrist, Ann Harding, who gets involved in the personal life of a patient. Ann's colleague and dear friend Herbert Marshall is in love with her, but she isn't ready to settle down and give up her career for a family yet. She likes being an independent woman and hasn't learned the power of being swept away by her feelings. When a beautiful socialite Maureen O'Sullivan attempts suicide, Ann is called to the scene when Bart can't find out why it happened. Ann and Maureen bond, and she gives her some pearls of wisdom to inspire her. Ann also meets up with Maureen's boyfriend, Louis Hayward, and tries to talk some sense into him.

This movie was really ahead of its time, talking about psychology and behavioral patterns. Figuring out the "why" wasn't as commonplace in the 1930s as it was in the 1960s, let alone today, so when you watch it be sure to remember when it was made. Also, the premise of a female career woman being respected and more influential than her male colleague was very unusual.

Ann Harding's performance is extremely impressive. She's compassionate, realistic, subtle, and modern, much like Katharine Hepburn in her later years. Bart and Maureen aren't given much to do, but they do it very well. And even Louis Hayward, who normally plays callous cads, manages to tug on your heartstrings. Don't miss this movie, even though you've probably never heard of it. It's very good.

This story boasts some impressive credentials, being written and directed by Edmond Goulding, the well-known director of "Grand Hotel", "The Razor's Edge" and "Nightmare Alley" and with a musical score by Jerome Kern (unfortunately, not a distinguished one) and cinematography by the great James Wong Howe (again, not one of his premier efforts). It concerns two couples, Ann Harding and Herbert Marshall, a psychiatrist and a medical doctor who have been courting for quite some time, and Louis Hayward and Maureen O'Sullivan, two wealthy young people: he, an alcoholic wastrel and she, a pathologically needy woman obsessed with her relationship with Hayward. When O'Sullivan attempts suicide over Hayward's neglect, Marshall tends to her and calls in Harding to attempt to help her. Harding goes about this, rather strangely, by attempting to cure Hayward's alcoholism so that he will hopefully be a better partner to O'Sullivan (no matter that her obsession with him is not the mark of a well-balanced individual).

After his rehabilitation, Hayward does indeed attempt to be better to O'Sullivan and marries her, but finds that his attachment to Harding has developed into love. Harding finds that she reciprocates his feelings also and the dilemma must be resolved. Sounds like an interesting, even juicy movie could have been made of all this, but I'm afraid not. Ann Harding had a blonde, patrician beauty that is lovely and her acting could be subtle, thoughtful and surprisingly modern. However, the one thing I have not seen her capable of in what I admit is my limited knowledge of her acting (3 performances) is physical passion. She and Marshall strike no sparks and seem to have no more than a companionable friendship, but neither does she give any indication that she burns with passion for Hayward, so the viewer is left with no investment in either relationship. O'Sullivan has a good scene or two, but her character is awfully inconsistent, swinging from noble to nutsy, without enough exploration by Goulding of what could account for her feelings, just neediness. The now jaw-dropping sexism of some of the attitudes expressed, as well as the simplistic look at the mechanics of psychiatry also work against the drama and make it quite dated.

Lillian Belton (Maureen O'Sullivan) is suicidal. Psychiatrist Dr. Mary White (Ann Harding) saves her and learns that her troubles stem from the alcoholic Jack Kerry (Louis Hayward). Dr. Gordon Phillips (Herbert Marshall) falls for Dr. White. He wants to marry her, but also wants her to abandon her work.

This movie has so many red flags... modern flags. I don't know if these red flags flew back in the day. I don't think modern psychiatrists would do what she does. Also, the ending is very tough in the modern sense. These are complicated relationships and I'm not comfortable with them. I feel like none of these people should be together, but times were different.

The film "Nightmare Alley" was a masterpiece of its time, with the content and theme of that film, the psychoanalysis and hypnotism as well as substance abuse issues. (Tyrone Power starred). So going into this film, one would expect an interesting theme on psycho-analysis (buregeoning practice at this time) and Goulding himself reportedly had several varied personal experiences with therapy, which is why his films are also intriguing.

Maureen O'Sullivan as suicidal socialite, and therapy patient. Anne Harding (who was also in "Prestige" with Melvyn Douglas an interesting film.) While you may watch this and try to make sense of the theme, it is probably a better idea to simply watch the players. Ann Harding as female psychiatrist has a few decent lines here . ..." to do something for a higher cause, other than ones self, is to gain insight"... .

However, the speech comes off as odd as she is counseling alcoholic patient and playboy Louis Hayward to stay with his suicidal girlfriend. Overall no resolution here, just unusual characters and a few archaic references to women's roles at the time, although Harding portrayed a believable portrait of a repressed female psychiatrist here.

While a bit convoluted the sets are interesting, the costume ball with Louis Hayward dressed as a harlequin, for example. Overall interesting if a bit inchoate. 8/10.

Edmund Goulding produced, wrote and directed this peculiar melodrama about a suicidal woman in love with an alcoholic man, both treated by psychiatrist Ann Harding. The woman is Maureen O'Sullivan, who took an overdose of drugs because she loves Louis Hayward, who drinks too much and doesn't seem to care about her. So far, so good; it's probably happened many times in real life. But I winced when I saw how Harding handled it. Her idea was to get Hayward to stop drinking, virtually ignoring O'Sullivan's total dependence on Hayward's love to keep on living, instead of trying to get at the root of that dependence. Harding herself has some problems being in love with Herbert Marshall, who wants to marry her, but also wants her to give up her practice and become a homemaker, which she is not willing to do. This was the 1930's, after all, and men behaved that way. Harding gets Hayward to go to a rehabilitation center. He goes on the wagon for months, but becomes attached to Harding. She reminds him that O'Sullivan is as dependent on him as he is on herself. Her treatment works in that Hayward eventually marries O'Sullivan, and the pair seem to be happy. But not for long. O'Sullivan senses that not only does her husband love Harding, but also that she loves him. In a very dramatic scene, she accuses Harding of this and Harding can't deny it, but ponders what to do to keep their marriage intact.